I saw this fruit in the store the other week and went a little crazy – what is it? how do you eat it? why have I never seen it before?
This is Buddha’s hand – it is a citrus variety, with finger-like segments. It has no pulp and is basically made up only of pith and zest. It has no bitter aftertaste, even after cooking, and has a delicate, almost floral, citrus flavor.
You can zest Buddha’s hand and use it in drinks, as well. But its lack of pulp seemed to really lend itself to candying the peel, and I love candied fruit.
You’ll need:
- one Buddha’s hand
- 1 cup sugar + more for dusting
- 1.5 cups water
- 3 whole cloves
1. Cut the fruit first, in half, then divide into the finger segments, cutting lengthwise into thin strips.
2. Dissolve the sugar in the water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring often. If you have made candy before, you know that sugar gets extremely hot and is not something you want to burn yourself with so, be careful!
3. Add the cloves and the fruit peel to the syrup. Bring back up to boil and cook for 10-15 minutes – depending on the size and quantity of fruit strips – until the fruit peel is shiny and translucent and the syrup has reduced and thickened slightly.
4. Strain – you can reserve the syrup for baking or tea – and invert the candied peel onto a wax-paper lined baking sheet. Let cool slightly and toss in sugar before storing in an airtight container.
I love Buddha’s Hand – this is a really great idea, especially if you need to candy a lot of “lemon zest”! ^^
Yes! You get much more from it than from two or three lemons.
Ok, that just looks really weird, you are a brave cook!! c
It only looks weird in its raw form haha 🙂 afterwards it tastes delicious! A little like bergamot.
You are so fortunate to find something like this in a local grocery store.. how exciting! And I think you are right, this is the perfect way to capture it’s flavor!! There would be so many uses for these all candied:)
Definitely! I saw it in Whole Foods and was too curious to resist 🙂
That’s pretty cool…I have never seen anything like it before!!!
me neither!
Wow, never seen that one before! Thanks for the new info… 😀
Sure, enjoy!
I am certain I can probably get that fruit here in Hong Kong? Sounds lovely. BAM
Yes, it’s an Asian citrus variety so I am sure you can find it in HK!
How interesting and tasty looking!
Thanks, I thought it was very curious too.
Woow! Looks cool! Bet tastes too! There is an exotic fruit interest with Ksusha since childhood!
Thanks for cultivating it:)
Never seen these before! Maybe I’ll find some in Italy this summer? Will have a look 🙂
I am not sure about their seasonality – whether it’s more winter-centric like most citrus fruit – but definitely check and see!